By Mike Maerz
Director of Florida Operations/Area Scout

The Top Prospect Games has consistently proven to be one of the top events in the state, with 45 commitments from the last two events combined and 26 of those being Division I along with a 7th round MLB Draft pick. This event puts players from the 2018-2021 classes against each other in a pro-style workout followed by a game.

Over the next week we will break down each player by position. Today we look at the catchers:

Danny Neri C / OF / Bishop Snyder, FL / 2020 Rankings  State Rank:47 POS:8 Young, 5-foot-11, 165-pound catcher has a projectable athletic build. Worked well behind the plate receiving by keeping his body quiet. Showed a strong arm in the showcase with a 2.1-2.2 pop time and in the game by nabbing a base stealer at third. Transfer was clean but would occasionally stand up to high. Could work on flexibility to become quick and more mobile behind the plate. Offensively the left handed hitting catcher swings with good intent. Occasionally steep to the ball. Has ability to use all fields as he laced a line drive single to left in his game

Travis Stapleton C / 3B / Real Life Christian Academy, FL / 2020 Rankings  State Rank:37 POS:7 Stapleton has continued to improve each time we have seen him. He has a stocky, catcher’s build, with a strong lower half. Defensively, he has a quality setup and shows actions that project to be an above average defensive catcher in the future. His hands work, he could improve his hip mobility which would put him in better position receiving on a consistent basis. He has a strong arm and quick transfer which translated to the game with a caught stealing with a 2.14 pop time. Offensively, he stay loaded on the back side. He has some length at times, but when he is short to the ball he creates present gap-to-gap power with more to come. This translated to the game with a hard hit single.

Luke Holland C / OF / Brandon, FL / 2018 Athletic build, 6-foot-2, 185-pounds. Strong frame with an accurate arm from behind the plate and topped out at 83 mph from the outfield. Showcased a 2.05-2.15 pop time with a clean, quick transfer. His footwork behind the plate played well as he was quick and stayed on line to his target. Offensively he started with a leg kick trigger and showed good bat speed. Has power potential as he becomes more consistent with his swing.

Tanner Wood C / 1B / West Orange, FL / 2018 Stands at 6-foot, 215 pounds with a strong, solid build ideal for a catcher’s frame. During batting practice he showed the ability to drive the ball to the pull-side with some pop. Strong wrists and hands through the zone. With more use of his lower half he will continue to generate more power. Registered an exit velocity of 84 mph in the cage during offensive evaluations. Behind the plate his throws to the bag topped out at 77 mph with pop times in the 2.15.-2.25 range. As he becomes quicker with his transfer, the pop time will continue to improve.

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